Alessandro Del Piero was on Sky Sport for the full duration of Thursday’s Europa League opener — and both his pre-match observations and his post-match assessment captured the precise balance of warmth and challenge that this particular moment in Juventus’s season demands.
Pre-Match: “The Europa League Can Bring Problems if You Don’t Take It Seriously — Juventus Need an Emotional Change”
Del Piero set the tone before kick-off with a passage that cut directly to the emotional reality of the occasion. “Playing this cup for Milan and Juventus… they have everything to lose, unfortunately, because it is not the Champions League. If you do badly it doesn’t carry the positivity. This, combined with the Sassuolo match, must inspire the players to have an emotional change. Today Juventus must not just find Woltemade’s goal or Kolo Muani’s goal. They must find the soul, the heart, and the desire.”
On the sold-out Allianz Stadium — notable for a Europa League group stage fixture against NEC: “A NEC is certainly not a team that inspires in supporters that same feeling as Barcelona or Real Madrid. In such a difficult moment, this response from the supporters is a very beautiful signal. I believe and hope that this was made present to the players.”
On the competition’s importance: “Few people, seeing the squad Juventus have built, would have bet they could win the Champions League. But this squad can win the Europa League — obviously they must rediscover themselves. If they think it is a second-tier cup, there will be problems even this evening.”
“Woltemade Started Because of His Stature — and It Was the Right Choice”
Del Piero’s tactical reading of Spalletti’s decision to start Woltemade for the first time was precise. “I believe he played Woltemade from the start precisely because of his physical stature — holding these balls and allowing the squad to breathe. It all starts from an error from the opposing goalkeeper — but if you don’t try and you are not there you do not exploit the error.”
On the German’s overall performance: “He did a great deal — he lost some balls but did so fighting and often held the ball up, making the team advance. Juventus in general interpreted the match well and has players of a superior level who are more accustomed than NEC to playing these kinds of matches.”
Post-Match: “The Best Response Was the Reaction — Always in the Match, Always Lucid”
After the final whistle of the 5-0 victory, Del Piero’s assessment was generous but carefully calibrated. “Scoring goals is important for morale and for the table. The most beautiful response from Juventus today was the reaction — always in the match, always lucid. In some moments not beautiful, but doing the things that needed to be done. A wonderful evening: first goals for Alajbegovic, Kolo Muani, Woltemade…”
“This Must Be the Regularity — Not a Reaction After Sassuolo. It Is a Moment of Growth”
The warning embedded within the endorsement was the one Del Piero most clearly wanted to land. “This will quiet the criticism for a while and shift it elsewhere. But what happened tonight must be the regularity — not a reaction after a match like Sassuolo. It is a moment of growth.” He added the honest qualifier that prevents any reading of the result as definitively settling any question: “Spalletti is good at analysing teams and approaching one system of play rather than another. Sometimes he doesn’t manage to transmit it, or the squad doesn’t execute it.”
“Juventus Are Always Discussed — That Attention Has Real Value”
Del Piero closed with the observation that speaks most directly to why Thursday’s victory mattered beyond the scoreline. “A singular but important fact: Juventus are always discussed, in the good and in the bad. This very attention is evidence of something. Playing every three days you must be inspired by something greater than the individual match. The five substitutions are enormous — having plan A, B, and C is fundamental. Today Juventus found all of it. The hope is that they keep finding it.”
